Third Time's a Charm (Holland Springs #3)(61)

“Tell Missy thank you, but I’ve got a place.”

“Where’s that? I heard you’ve got the apartment over your store rented.”

“I’d rather not say.” Slowly, she turned and walked away from them. Her hair slid forward as she brushed past Sasha, hiding her face.

Sasha clenched his hands into fists, watching as she shuffled up the stairs.

Once Rose was out of earshot, he stepped in the doorway and scowled at the Sheriff. “Prepositions not your strong point? You weren’t supposed to serve Ms. Holland until after the samples were sent off. Not before.”

“I didn’t have a choice in the matter, you cold-hearted son of a bitch.” The sheriff crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. “Ms. Holland, my ass. If I could arrest you for taking advantage of her, I would.”

Sasha looked down his nose and a raindrop hit him on the cheek. “Careful there, Sheriff. Would hate to see you out of a job.”

“One day men like you will get exactly what they deserve. And I hope to God I’m around to see it.” The sheriff jogged down the stairs and got back in his patrol car.

One day? The man just had a front row seat.

The car disappeared in the curve. It began to rain harder, the tops of pine trees lining the road swaying from side to side.

Sasha closed the door and ran up the stairs, nearly stumbling into Blackbeard.

The beast hissed at him.

“Out of my way, damn cat.”

Blackbeard ignored him, taking every opportunity to try to trip him as he jogged up the grand staircase.

The cross pendant felt tight around his neck, like a noose. One he deserved.

When he got to the final landing, he slowed his pace, trying to sort through all the possible things he could say to her. But “whoops, didn’t think to mention the bit about helping the town was important” wasn’t going to cut it.

The door to Ivy’s nursery was ajar and he stepped inside. He paused in the middle of the room, listening to Rose as she sang softly to Ivy. The baby’s hands reached for Rose’s curls, grabbing them and cooing.

Regret hit him hard in the gut. This was what his life had come to—targeting an innocent woman and baby in order to save his mother. At least Rose had a place to go. That much he could be thankful for. He would be the lowest of gutter scum if he’d made her completely homeless. Not that he was far off.

“Did we wake her?”

The lullaby abruptly stopped.

“Once she goes back to sleep, I’ll take you to the spring and you can get your samples,” she said quietly as Ivy’s lids drooped.

He blinked, unsure if he was hearing her correctly. “You’re still going to help me?”

She placed the baby in the crib. “I said I would.”

“Rose, I…” he began and tried to grab her arm as she walked by him.

She jerked back. “Don’t.”

He let his hand fall to his side. The need to apologize was overwhelming, but he couldn’t make his mouth and tongue form the words. Finally, he said, “Wait until tomorrow to take me to the springs. After the ball, we’ll—”

“No, we’ll go now and then you’ll get the hell out of my house.” She left him standing in the middle of Ivy’s room.

***

The door shut behind them and it took a minute for Rose’s eyes to adjust to the darkness. She shivered, wishing she’d put on a coat. “You’ll need to watch your head.”

Automatically, she turned on the flashlight and began to walk down the corridor made of earth and oak timbers that shored up the sides and ceiling. Normally, she made this trek alone. Normally, her heart wasn’t broken. Normally…nothing was ever normal for her.

She could feel Sasha’s presence behind her as they walked. The slight scuffle of his shoes echoed in turn with hers.

“Who built this?”

“Need it for your official report?”

“Dammit, Rose. I’m trying to make conversation so I won’t go mental in here.”

He sounded so sincere that she couldn’t help but ask, “Are you afraid of the dark or closed-in spaces?”

“Does it matter?” he snapped.

Irritated, she stopped suddenly. He rammed into her and sent her to her knees, the firmly packed dirt floor unforgiving. “Ow!” The flashlight flew out of her hand and landed on the floor with a thud, shining a long beam of light in the direction they needed to go.

Sasha swore, his hands patting her head and shoulders before he yanked her up and pressed her close.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice harsh.

She closed her eyes in the near darkness and breathed in his male scent, wanting to weep at the false sense of comfort his body gave her. At the way his strong arms wrapped around her and made her think that he’d cared for her. But it had all been a lie. He couldn’t even tell her the truth without lying to her.

“You lied to me. I bet you weren’t ever going to tell me either,” she said, the material of his shirt soft against her cheek.

He exhaled, his muscular chest falling. “Rose, I—”

“Let me go,” she whispered as she heard his heart begin to sprint.

“I can’t.”

Her heart began beating furiously. “Why not?”